“I think I’m able to jump, right now, about 6.20m, 6.23m maybe. I think 6.20m can be a good goal.

"That sounds crazy, because it’s something totally new."

Fittingly, Ukraine’s Sergey Bubka – the man who had held the seemingly untouchable world record for two decades – was watching on from the stands in Donetsk in February.

“To be congratulated by Sergey in person, just a few minutes after the record, was an incredible moment for me,” says Lavillenie, bursting with pride at the fact that he set his world record at the same arena Bubka did 20 years earlier.

“That means a lot for pole vault history. If you had to choose a place, it should be that one. It’s perfect.”

Lavillenie speaks candidly about what makes him good; his astonishment he broke the record so soon; his crazy brush with celebrity; and why his three best years are still ahead of him.